


I understand

by tobstertoaster



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Angst, Child Abuse, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Not Incest, Past Child Abuse, Runaway Gladion, but also some fluff, gladion is my edgy son, guzma Is now a father, guzma child abuse theory, idk if this has been written before, kukui is poly, this aint a ship my dudes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-09-13 06:15:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9110158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tobstertoaster/pseuds/tobstertoaster
Summary: When Gladion ran away from his mother, it's known he joined Team Skull to take Lusamine down. However, Guzma found out quickly about how terrible of a mother that Lusamine was to her son and daughter, and being a child abuse survivor as well, decides to adopt Gladion and take on the role as a father figure. Gladion soon finds out that there are many other teenagers that have or had similar problems of his. This takes place before and during the Pokemon Sun/Moon game.





	1. Chapter 1 - In the rain

**Author's Note:**

> I HAVEN'T FINISHED POKEMON MOON SO THIS MAY BE SOOOO OFF BUT I WANNA WRITE THIS BEFORE I FORGET THIS IDEA. This may not be the best and it's my first fic in a while but hey!! That's fine.

When Gladion escaped the Aether Foundation, pokeballs in his tiny hands, a hoodie over his head, and fear in his eyes, it was raining like hell. He was lucky to have left while it was still night time, and most of the guards were off doing other things and his mother either sleeping or doing her work. Probably the latter. He slipped up a few times, but luckily he wasn't found. In his mind, he promised himself to return for Lillie as soon as possible. The only thing Gladion wanted right now was a bag to keep these damn pokeballs in. It wasn't helping that he was terrified of his own money flying out of his pocket on the wet sidewalk.

It was the dead of night, probably three in the morning. It was pitch black, the only way he could see through the darkness were the street lights that shone brightly on the streets. He hated the wetness of the rain, but at least it gave off some noise. Otherwise, he would've felt like he was in a cliche horror movie instead of a thriller. However, it was a repetitive sound. He soon learned to find that the pitter patter of the sidewalk began to annoy him, and he just wanted to curl up and cover his ears while under the shade of a building. However, he wasn't going to do that. He had to get far away from this place as possible.

After a while, Gladion's arms and legs began to feel weak. He looked up at a clock that was next to a building, and noticed that it was now five in the morning. No wonder he was feeling fatigued, he had been running for an entire two hours! After noticing that, he saw a very dark blue hue in the sky, signifying that that the night was over and the day was about to begin. It had stopped raining, at least. That couldn't shake off the fatigue and anxiety that he had, though. He needed a place to rest. He knew a park bench wouldn't do, he would roll right off and probably eventually be kicked off by an officer. He considered the option of sleeping in the pokecenter, knowing that people usually rest in the chairs after a long day. However, he knew he can't do that either. That could be the first place that his mother or her minions could search for him. Although he had the option of staying at a hotel, there were no motels nearby, and he didn't have enough money for even a week at a hotel. 

The runaway felt like he wanted to scream. Not cry, just let out a long, loud shriek. But he held in the urge. Besides, it was five in the morning, and all of the city folk wouldn't be very pleased to hear a preteen screaming at the top of his longs to be the start of their day. Instead, he let out a long, frustrated groan. At this point, sleep was the only thing on his mind. Even though his stomach growled, and his throat and head hurt from dehydration, he just wanted to rest before going further. But he needed a place where he would be least suspected to be in, but still a place that would be appropriate and at least affordable to sleep in. 

Then his gaze turned to a narrow space between a hotel and an apparel store. He huffed, a little bit of his messy hair flying up. Gladion had heard of the dangers of even wandering into alleyways, and how people are harmed, killed, or worse there. But his eyelids were growing heavy, and so was his body. "This will have to do." He grumbled underneath his breath. He made his way towards the alley, yawning and putting his hood over his head to seem intimidating. Who was he kidding? There probably aren't any people here. What was he so afraid of anyway? He had Type: Null here to protect him. The coast was clear, he was safe for now. 

So he slid down the brick wall onto the pavement. The air and surface were freezing, but that's okay. Gladion's eyelids finally closed, and his breathing went softer.


	2. Chapter 2 - Rude Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladion wakes up with the sun in his eyes and two gang members hovering over him. A battle ensues.

_"Yo, who the hell is this kid?!"_

_"How am I supposed to know?! He just came into our turf uninvited!"_

_"Yeah, but usually, people come in 'ere to mess with us! He needs to tell us who the hell he is or get out!"_

_"Wait, wait homie, he's wakin' up!"_

The sun shone brightly in Gladion's eyes he awoke. Well, not completely. Two heads hung over him, glaring at the runaway. He froze in place, eyes wide as he looked up at the two gang members. Both of them were wearing bandannas that were black and white, with hats on their heads that looked like skulls. The one on the left had long, messy bright pink hair while the one on the left had short, bright blue hair. Necklaces with a skull on them hung from both their necks, only inches above Gladion's face. "Yo! Yo, what the hell are ya doin' on our turf?!" The pink hair gang member shouted in his face.

Gladion had an expression of irritation on his face. He just woke up, to very loud teenagers nonetheless. He knew he should've picked a better place to rest. "Hey, kid, c'mon! Say somethin'! Are you deaf?!" The preteen got shook out of his trance, waking up completely. "S...Sorry, what?" Gladion knew straight away that he chose the wrong words, so he tried to continue his words. "U-Uhm...I just..." In a panic, he grabbed a pokeball in his pocket, throwing it over the two gang members' heads. Type: Null emerged from the ball, and the grunts spun around. "Y-Yo, homie, what the hell is that?! Do you know?" The pink haired grunt asked her fellow blue haired grunt. "N-No! I don't know what that thing is! Let's try to take it on either way!"

They both threw pokeballs toward Gladion's pokemon, both of them being zubats, coming out of their balls. The cry they made came out like a shriek, causing Gladion to shrivel up and cover his ears. "N-Null! Use Tackle!" Due to the grunts' distraction, Gladion got the chance to stand up to get a better view of what exactly was going on. Type: Null tackled the first zubat, doing a critical hit. Huh. Seems like these guys aren't as strong as you'd think they are. "Zubat, use leech life!" The pink haired grunt exclaimed. The zubat sped towards Type: Null, and it was almost as if you could see some of Type's energy leave its body. The blue haired grunt commanded the same thing, but Null avoided the attack as if it knew the move already.

After a minute of repetitive battling, Type: Null finally beat the zubats. Gladion opened the pokeball, transferring the Null back into its little weird spherical home. The grunts were left in shock. "Who the hell do ya think you are?! What even is that Pokemon?!" Gladion huffed, rolling his eyes. "Please. I'm just a runaway. And it's not like I have to tell you what my Pokemon is to _you_ thugs." He can't tell them his name, nor what he has. They're thugs, who knows what they could do? Especially since he just won a Pokemon fight with them, they could immediately go to Lusamine and tell her that they have seen her idiotic son. However, telling this information to the grunts seemed to surprise them. "You. You're a runaway?" 

Gladion shoved his hands in his pockets, turning his head to look away. The brick wall seemed more interesting to him, apparently. "Yeah. What about it?" After a moment's silence, the pink haired grunt spoke up. "We have a place you could stay. A headquarters, kinda thing. You're pretty strong, dangerous, even!" She pumped a fist up, and the blue grunt nodded in agreement. "...And? I don't want to stay in a place that has noisy and annoying people like you." He didn't want to even look at them anymore. "You could help us. We're Team Skull. We're the outcasts of Alola, but damn, we're good at being that! We take pride in that fact!" The blue grunt said, laughing. "What we're saying is, we wanna help you, kid. A lot of us have been in your situation. You don't even have to stay for long, you could just help yourself and leave." The pink haired girl said, her expression becoming more serious. Gladion felt his knuckles going white, and he whipped around, stomping his foot on the ground. "WHAT THE _HELL_ IS YOUR PROBLEM?! IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, OKAY?!" The grunts backed up, startled by the preteen's sudden outburst. Gladion panted, wiping his eyes away. _No. He is not going to cry in front of some complete strangers._

"Look, I'm sorry. I...Ugh, whatever. I'm leaving. You guys are pissing me off anyway." He gathered his pokeballs, and started walking away. "Suit yourself, kid." The blue grunt said with a worried expression. He looked like a mess. Red faced, messy hair, dirt on his white pants and hoodie, and shivering. He looked like an average homeless kid. Those thugs could have been lying to him anyway. He was just protecting himself. However, he was going to stay strong. He wasn't going to cry. Gladion slid into a Pokecenter, pretending not to see the nurse's worried expression. He set the single pokeball onto the counter, looking away. "Your Pokemon have been healed! Have a nice day!" The nurse smiled. The preteen sighed, nodding. "Yeah. You too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i dUNNO IF I WROTE THE GRUNTS CORRECTLY SO IM SORRY ABOUT THAT ?? THEN AGAIN idk if i wrote /GLADION/ correctly even tho hes the main character of the story..........................its practice  
> anyway im sorry if the writing is bad in general with this one? im very tired


	3. Chapter 3 - Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladion and Type:Null wander around Route 17. They have some talking to do.

Gladion sighed, looking over at Type at his side. After a couple of days knowing that he was far from Aether, he decided to let Type breathe a little from the pokeball. Well, only on routes. He can't let it out in cities or towns, because if they were seen, they would be caught. When they get caught, they would be sent back to his mother. After getting sent back to his mother, he knows he would never be able to leave the foundation ever again. Then Type:Null would get sent back to where Gladion found it. The secret labs. Null growled under its breath, and the runaway looked at it. "What? Tired from walking?" Type shook its head, seeming agitated. Gladion looked at the sky, noticing the orange and purple hues in the sky. "Ah. You're hungry, aren't you?" The nod from the Type:Null made Gladion take it as a "yes".

He noticed his stomach rumbling as well, and he hugged his stomach. "Damn. Me too. Let's see if we have anything to eat..." He took his bag that he recently got at an apparel store, and right when he noticed it was sprinkling, he made his way under a tree. Unfortunately, he didn't get any new clothing. Too much money. So he has been stuck with the same white clothing he had from his "home", the clothing now being covered in dirt and little marks of red from the times he tripped or walked into a thornbush. He sat beneath the tree, subconsciously humming a tune, a song his mother used to sing to Lillie and him whenever either one of them got scared. The moment he noticed his humming, he immediately stopped. 

The teenager zipped open his bag, using his hand to move items around to find any food. He shoved everything and anything out of the way; pokeballs, water, a picture, and an old pokedex. His eyes widened upon realizing he had nothing to eat. He remembered using the last remaining pieces of food yesterday. Really, they tried their best to make his food worthwhile, but he guessed he didn't bring enough. "Dammit.  _Dammit!_ " He slammed his bag down into a small area where mud was starting to form due to the pouring rain. He was shaking from anger and the cold. Gladion took a deep breath, trying to pay attention to how his chest was rising and falling. That was how he usually calmed down from his outbursts. He always had issues with his anger, and Wicke told him ways to try to calm down. Some tricks worked, some tricks didn't. But he noticed how watching how his chest moved was the most effective. He didn't know why, maybe it was because it helped him distract himself for a few seconds? 

The runaway laughed nervously after his outburst, taking the dirtied bag out of the mud. "Th-That's okay, we'll just have to pay for some more; it's no big deal." He smiled shakily, zipping open a small part of the bag; he only had 10 Pokedollars. He slumped, feeling his entire body get more limp from hunger and more wet from the rain. He exhaled, his eyes growing wetter and his lip start to tremble. He let out a shaky sigh, squeezing his eyes shut to stop the tears from pouring. Type:Null curled up next to the boy, resting its head on his leg. Gladion smiled softly, petting its neck. "Thanks." He wiped his eyes with his free hand, clearing his throat. The blond looked up at the raining and cloudy sky, singing under his breath.  _"You are the dawn of a new day that's waking, a masterpiece still in the making. The blue in an ocean of grey. You are right where you need to be, poised to inspire and to succeed. You'll look back and you'll realize one day..."_ He looked down at his sleeping Type:Null and smiled. And under the weak protection of the shade of the tree and the pitter patter of the rain, Gladion closed his eyes and fell asleep. 

When he woke up, the sun was in his eyes and he felt so hungry he was nauseous. Type: Null was nudging him awake with the side of its helmet. Gladion stretched, getting off the ground. "I read from a sign that there's a town up ahead. We should head there." He stated, looking ahead. Type:Null chirped happily, and the teenager grinned. He clipped his bag around his waist, his hands in his pockets as he started to walk on the path again. "Maybe we can convince someone to give us some food. I'm cute enough, right?" He snickered, trying to brighten the mood. He found that it worked when Type:Null shook its head. Gladion raised an eyebrow, chuckling in amusement. "Really? Guess you're right. I'm all covered in dirt. I look like a homeless person. But I guess that's what we are, huh?" He huffed, rubbing his left eye. Even though they're starving, Gladion knew something. No matter what happens, they have each other. As long as Type:Null was by his side, he was okay. It's stupid, isn't it? It's only been about a week and he's already attatched to this Pokemon. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AGHGHHH SORRY FOR THE LONG AF HIATUS I. HAVE SCHOOL IN THE WAY. and i didnt rly know what to write about. this will probably be one chapter a week (USUALLY ON A WEEKEND) so im sorry about that :c the reason why i updated was bc ofh Mandopony's song "Nullified" wHICH IS GOOD MM CHECK IT OUT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFVV2yQ8eh4 also i have gotten further in the game (i just have to fight all the kahunas >:( ) and i realized [looks at Guzma at that one point in the game at the foundation] oh no. also sorry if my writing wasn't as good as the other chapters, i'm very tired and i just wanna animate :( .  
> SONG USED IN THE THING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70VlAyEUXYM

**Author's Note:**

> i hope nyall like this as of right now!! sorry it was short, itll get longer as the chapters go by B)


End file.
